Rendering method for drone game

ABSTRACT

A rendering method for a drone game includes the following steps. Firstly, a drone, a control device, a display device and an information node are provided. The drone includes a plurality of cameras. Then, a plurality of images acquired from the plurality of cameras of the drone are stitched as a panoramic image by the control device, and the panoramic image is displayed on the display device. Then, a ready signal is issued from the information node to the display device, and the control device accesses the drone game through an authorization of the information node in response to the ready signal. Then, at least one virtual object is generated in the panoramic image. Consequently, the sound, light and entertainment effects of the drone game are effectively enhanced, and the fun and diversity of the drone game are increased.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a rendering method, and moreparticularly to a rendering method for a drone game.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years, with the advancement of camera technologies and batterytechnologies, remote control drones become more popular. The drones canfly in the three-dimensional space without limitations, and thus theoperators can enjoy controlling the drones. Moreover, since the dronesare equipped with high-resolution cameras, the drones can implement theaerial photography and even the artistic creation.

Generally, a microcontroller is the core component for controlling thedrone. The microcontroller can receive commands from a ground controllerto implement the ascending/descending motions or theforward/backward/leftward/rightward flying motions. Conventionally, twoflying control methods are used to control the drone. In accordance withthe first flying control method, the ground controller is used todirectly control the operations of the drone according to the user'svision. In accordance with the second flying control method, the userwears a head-mounted display to control the drone.

The installation of the cameras on the drone can display the images ofthe real world. However, when the drone is used for the leisureactivities, the sound, light and entertainment effects provided by thedrone are still insufficient. For example, the drone leisure activities(e.g., World Drone Prix in Dubai) take a lot of money to build theflight competition venues. If an additional rendering method can beperformed at the software level, the game fun can be properly increased,and the gaming methods of the drone can be diversified. Moreover, thematerials and the associated cost can be reduced.

Therefore, there is a need of providing an improved rendering method fora drone game in order to overcome the drawbacks of the conventionaltechnologies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention provides a rendering method for adrone game. By the rendering method of the present invention, arendering model of the drone is imported into a panoramic image, and thevirtual object is randomly synthetized into the panoramic image.Consequently, the sound, light and entertainment effects of the dronegame are effectively enhanced, and the fun and diversity of the dronegame are increased.

Another object of the present invention provides a rendering method fora drone game. The weather information is acquired, and a special effectis determined according to the weather information. The image of thevirtual object shown on a display device generates the special effect.Moreover, since a reward effect of getting the virtual object istriggered, the visual effect is diversified. Consequently, the diversityof the drone game is enhanced.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a renderingmethod for a drone game is provided. The rendering method includes thefollowing steps. Firstly, a drone, a control device, a display deviceand an information node are provided. The drone includes a plurality ofcameras. Then, a plurality of images acquired from the plurality ofcameras of the drone are stitched as a panoramic image by the controldevice, and the panoramic image is displayed on the display device.Then, a ready signal is issued from the information node to the displaydevice. Thereafter, the control device is allowed to access the dronegame through the information node in response to the ready signal. Then,at least one virtual object is generated in the panoramic image.

The above contents of the present invention will become more readilyapparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing thefollowing detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a rendering method for a drone gameaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the step 5200 of the rendering methodfor the drone game according to the embodiment as shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the plurality of cameras ofthe drone and the corresponding image areas;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a rendering method for a drone gameaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a flowchart of a rendering method for a dronegame according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an aiming frame and a virtualobject displayed on a real-time image; and

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate a flowchart of a rendering method for a dronegame according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention will now be described more specifically withreference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that thefollowing descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention arepresented herein for purpose of illustration and description only. It isnot intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise formdisclosed.

Please refer to FIG. 1 . FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a renderingmethod for a drone game according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention. The rendering method includes the following steps.

Firstly, in a step S100, a drone, a control device, a display device andan information node are provided. The drone includes a plurality ofcameras. An example of the control device includes but is not limited toa handheld remote controller device. For example, the display device isa panel monitor integrated into a handheld remote controller device, orthe display device is a head-mounted display. For example, theinformation node is a base station. It is noted that the examples of thecontrol device, the display device and the information node are notrestricted.

Then, in a step S200, a plurality of images acquired from the pluralityof cameras of the drone are stitched as a panoramic image by the controldevice, and the panoramic image is displayed on the display device.

Then, in a step S300, the control device issues a confirmation signal tothe information node by the control of the user, and the informationnode issues a ready signal to the display device in response to theconfirmation signal. For example, the ready signal is a countdownsignal. The countdown message corresponding to the countdown signal isdisplayed on the display device. For example, the countdown period is 10seconds. After the countdown signal is received, the countdown messageshown on the display device counts down from 10 to 0.

Then, in a step S400, the control device is allowed to access the dronegame through the information node in response to the ready signal. Thatis, the control device is authorized to control a drone character in thedrone game when the countdown message is counted to zero. When thecontrol device is authorized, the control device can issue a controlsignal to control the drone character. Consequently, the control devicecan control the takeoff action and the subsequent operations of thedrone character.

Then, in a step S500, at least one virtual object is randomly generated,and the image of the virtual object is synthetized into the panoramicimage by the control device.

From the above descriptions, the rendering method of the presentinvention can render the image of the drone appearance into thepanoramic image and randomly generate the virtual object. Consequently,the sound, light and entertainment effects of the drone game areeffectively enhanced, and the fun and diversity of the drone game areincreased.

Moreover, many transportation devices (e.g., buses, airplanes orvehicles) or any other appropriate transportation devices can be used asthe information nodes in the future. If the rendering method of thepresent invention is applied to these information nodes, thecapabilities of the information nodes to display information can beeffectively enhanced. The displayed information can assist the user inmaking decisions. In other words, the concepts and effectiveness of thepresent invention can be expanded.

Please refer FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 . FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating thestep S200 of the rendering method for the drone game according to theembodiment as shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 3 is a schematic diagramillustrating the plurality of cameras of the drone and the correspondingimage areas. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 , the drone 10 used in therendering method of the present invention includes a plurality ofcameras 11. As mentioned above, the drone 10 further includes thecomputing unit. In some embodiments, the drone 10 further includes amotor, a gyroscope, a wireless transmission unit and any otherappropriate electronic component. The step S200 of the rendering methodincludes the following sub-steps S210, S220, S230 and S240. Firstly, inthe sub-step S210, the plurality of images are captured by the pluralityof cameras 11 of the drone 10. Then, in the sub-step S220, the pluralityof images are transmitted from the drone 10 to the control device.Preferably but not exclusively, the step S220 can be implemented withthe wireless transmission unit of the drone 10, but not limited thereto.Then, in the sub-step S230, the plurality of images captured at the sametime stamp form an image set by the control device. In other words, aplurality of image sets acquired at different time stamps aresequentially generated. Then, in the sub-step S240, the plurality ofimages in each image set are stitched as the panoramic image accordingto a plurality of key features of the plurality of images by the controldevice. That is, the plurality of key features of the plurality ofimages are used for performing the feature matching operation. In anembodiment, the panoramic image is further processed into a top-viewimage. After a drone outerwear (i.e., the drone appearance) is checkedand selected, the selected drone appearance (e.g., a small spacebattleship) is synthetized into the top-view image.

Please refer to FIG. 3 again. As shown in FIG. 3 , four cameras 11 ofthe drone 10 are used to capture the plurality of image corresponding tofour image area. The four image areas include a first image area, asecond image area, a third image area and a fourth image area. Theoverlap region between the first image area and the second image area isa first overlap image area. The overlap region between the second imagearea and the third image area is a second overlap image area. Theoverlap region between the third image area and the fourth image area isa third overlap image area. The overlap region between the fourth imagearea and the first image area is a fourth overlap image area. After thefirst image area, the second image area, the third image area and thefourth image area are combined together and the extra pixels in theoverlap image areas are removed, the plurality of images can be stitchedas the panoramic image. In an embodiment, any part of the panoramicimage can be extracted and zoomed, and the aforementioned imageinformation can be transmitted to the base station by means of forexample but not limited to 5G communication. The extracted and zoomedsignal can be triggered by a touch screen or a joystick of the groundcontrol device or control unit.

Pleases refer to FIG. 4 . FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a renderingmethod for a drone game according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention. In this embodiment, the rendering method of the drone gamefurther includes steps S600 and S700 after the step S500.

In the step S600, the information node acquires a weather information,and transmits the weather information to the control device.

In the step S700, the control device determines a special effectaccording to the weather information, and the image of the virtualobject shown on the display device generates the special effect. In someembodiment, the weather information is acquired through the internet.For example, the weather information is acquired from Central WeatherBureau, Japan Meteorological Agency, or the like. The weatherinformation includes wind direction information, wind speed information,wind interval information, rain condition information, typhooninformation, tornado information, sandstorm information or solar eclipseinformation. In some embodiments, the weather information is the localweather information that is sensed and acquired by a plurality ofsensors connected with the information node. The local weatherinformation includes wind direction information, wind speed information,wind interval information, rain condition information, typhooninformation, tornado information, sandstorm information or solar eclipseinformation. By using the weather information, the rendering method ofthe present invention can have the function of simulating the localweather or the weather at a specific location. The weather informationcan be selectively used to simulate the corresponding weatherenvironment according to the practical requirements. Moreover, accordingto the corresponding weather information, the special effect is ashaking effect, a vibration effect, a rotation effect, a blur effect ora light/shadow reduction effect. For example, the shaking effect isgenerated in response to gusts, the blur effect is generated in responseto sandstorms, or the light/shadow reduction effect is generated inresponse to solar eclipse, but not limited thereto.

In the following example, the image of the virtual object shown on thedisplay device is correspondingly moved according to the wind directioninformation and the wind speed information. For example, the winddirection information and wind speed information collected by theweather station or the wind speed calculator indicate that the windblows from north to south and the wind speed corresponds to gentle wind(i.e., the wind force scale is 3). Under this circumstance, the centerpoint of the virtual object is gradually moved from the generation pointof the virtual object to the north within two seconds in several stages.Consequently, a visual shaking and drifting effect is generated. Theaforementioned stages can be repeatedly done according to the actualwind conditions. The coordinates of the center point of the virtualobject within two seconds in different stages will be listed in thefollowing table.

TABLE 1 Weather information input: the wind blows from north to south,the wind force scale is 3, the positive value of the X axis denotes thenorth direction, and the negative value of the X axis denotes the southdirection time point (s) Center coordinate of generation point of thevirtual object 0 (X + A, Y + B, Z + C)   0~0.3 (X + A + 2, Y + B, Z + C)0.3~0.6 (X + A + 2 + 2, Y + B, Z + C) 0.6~0.9 (X + A + 2 + 2 + 2, Y + B,Z + C) 0.9~1.2 (X + A + 2 + 2 + 2, Y + B, Z + C) 1.2~1.5 (X + A + 2 + 2,Y + B, Z + C) 1.5~1.7 (X + A + 2, Y + B, Z + C) 1.7~2   (X + A, Y + B,Z + C)

Since the image of the virtual object generates the visual shaking anddrifting effect in response to the wind condition, the fun and diversityof the drone game are enhanced.

Please refer to FIGS. 5A, 5B and 6 . FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate aflowchart of a rendering method for a drone game according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagramillustrating an aiming frame and a virtual object displayed on areal-time image. In this embodiment, the rendering method furtherincludes steps S800, S900 and S1000 after the step S700.

In the step S800, an aiming frame 21 is superimposed on a real-timeimage 2 that is captured by one of the plurality of cameras of thedrone.

Then, the step S900 is performed to determine whether any virtual object3 occupies a specific proportion of the aiming frame 21 on the real-timeimage 2. For example, the specific proportion is greater than or equalto 75% of the aiming frame 21.

If the determining condition of the step S900 is satisfied (i.e., thevirtual object 3 occupies the specific proportion of the aiming frame 21on the real-time image 2), the step S1000 is performed after the stepS900. In the step S1000, a reward effect of getting the virtual object 3is triggered. Whereas, if the determining condition of the step S900 isnot satisfied (i.e., the virtual object 3 doesn't occupy the specificproportion of the aiming frame 21 on the real-time image 2), the stepS900 is repeatedly done (i.e., the step of determining whether anyvirtual object 3 occupies a specific proportion of the aiming frame 21on the real-time image 2 is repeatedly done).

In an embodiment, the virtual object 3 is randomly or constantlygenerated by the computing unit of the drone. Moreover, the size changeof the virtual object 3 is calculated by the computing unit of the droneaccording to the flight speed (or the motor speed) and the gyroscopedirection. When the drone is closer to the virtual object 3, the virtualobject 3 is gradually and visually enlarged. Correspondingly, the imageof the virtual object 3 shown on the display device is moved toward theimage of the aiming frame 21 on the display device and graduallyenlarged.

In an embodiment, if the determining condition of the step S900 issatisfied (i.e., the virtual object 3 occupies the specific proportionof the aiming frame 21 on the real-time image 2, wherein the specificproportion is for example 75%), it is considered that the virtual object3 has been gotten by the drone. Correspondingly, the virtual object 3disappears in the real-time image 2, and a firework effect or any otherappropriate visual sound and light effect can be played on the displaydevice.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate a flowchart of a rendering method for a dronegame according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In thisembodiment, the rendering method further includes a step S1100 and astep S1200 between the step S200 and step S300.

After the plurality of images acquired from the plurality of cameras ofthe drone are stitched into the panoramic image (in the step S200), thestep S1100 is performed. In the step S1100, a rendering model set forthe drone is imported into the panoramic image from the informationnode. Preferably but not exclusively, the rendering model set includes afighter jet model, a space shuttle model, a space battleship model andany other appropriate appearance model. In some embodiments, therendering model set imported into the panoramic image from theinformation node further includes an initial rendering model set and anadvanced rendering model set to be applied in different occasions ofdrone games. In some embodiments, the rendering model set for the droneis imported into the panoramic image from an external device of thedrone.

In the step S1200, a rendering model is selected from the renderingmodel set. For example, an initial rendering model is selected from theinitial rendering model set and used as the drone appearance. Then, thecontrol device issues a confirmation signal to the information node.After the confirmation signal is received by the information node, thesubsequent steps after the step S300 are performed. For brevity, thesesteps are not redundantly described herein. In other words, after thestep S1200 is completed, the rendering model representing the droneappearance is selected. After the confirmation signal is received by theinformation node, the rendering model representing the drone appearanceis registered to the drone game, but it is not limited thereto.

Furthermore, the reward effect triggered in the step S1000 mayspecifically include increasing the score and displaying the score onthe display device, or/and upgrading the drone appearance to one of aplurality of advanced rendering models, for example but not limited to asmall space shuttle is upgraded to a space battleship. In someembodiments, in the step S1100, the rendering model set imported by theinformation node includes the initial rendering model and the advancedrendering model. The user can choose one of the initial rendering modelsat the beginning of the drone game, and the drone appearance can berandomly upgraded to any one of the advanced rendering models after thereward effect is triggered, or the user or the organizer can define theupgrading path of the advanced rendering models which can be adjustedaccording to the practical requirements. Then, different visual effectsare produced to achieve the effect of making the drone game rich inchanges.

From the above descriptions, the present invention provides a renderingmethod for a drone game. By the rendering method of the presentinvention, the rendering model of the drone is imported into thepanoramic image, and the virtual object is randomly synthetized into thepanoramic image. Consequently, the sound, light and entertainmenteffects of the drone game are effectively enhanced, and the fun anddiversity of the drone game are increased. In an embodiment, the controldevice determines a special effect according to the weather information,and the image of the virtual object shown on the display devicegenerates the special effect. Moreover, since a reward effect of gettingthe virtual object is triggered, the visual effect is diversified.Consequently, the diversity of the drone game is enhanced.

While the invention has been described in terms of what is presentlyconsidered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is tobe understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosedembodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover variousmodifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadestinterpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similarstructures.

What is claimed is:
 1. A rendering method for a drone game, therendering method comprising steps of: (a) providing a drone, a controldevice, a display device and an information node, wherein the dronecomprises a plurality of cameras; (b) stitching a plurality of imagesacquired from the plurality of cameras of the drone as a panoramic imageby the control device, and displaying the panoramic image on the displaydevice; (c) issuing a ready signal from the information node to thedisplay device; (d) allowing the control device to access the drone gamethrough the information node in response to the ready signal; and (e)generating at least one virtual object in the panoramic image.
 2. Therendering method according to claim 1, wherein in the step (b), thepanoramic image is generated by performing steps of: (b1) acquiring theplurality of images from the plurality of cameras; (b2) transmitting theplurality of images from the drone to the control device; (b3) allowingthe plurality of images captured at the same time stamp to form an imageset by the control device; and (b4) stitching the plurality of images ineach image set as the panoramic image according to a plurality of keyfeatures of the plurality of images by the control device.
 3. Therendering method according to claim 1, wherein after the step (e), therendering method further comprises steps of: (f) the control deviceacquiring a weather information through the information node; and (g)determining a special effect according to the weather information, sothat an image of the virtual object shown on the display devicegenerates the special effect.
 4. The rendering method according to claim3, wherein the special effect is a shaking effect, a vibration effect, arotation effect, a blur effect or a light/shadow reduction effect. 5.The rendering method according to claim 3, wherein the weatherinformation is acquired through the internet, and the weatherinformation includes wind direction information, wind speed information,wind interval information, rain condition information, typhooninformation, tornado information, sandstorm information or solar eclipseinformation.
 6. The rendering method according to claim 3, wherein theweather information is acquired through a plurality of sensors connectedwith the information node, and the weather information includes winddirection information, wind speed information, wind intervalinformation, rain condition information, typhoon information, tornadoinformation, sandstorm information or solar eclipse information.
 7. Therendering method according to claim 3, wherein after the step (g), therendering method further comprises steps of: (h) superimposing an aimingframe on a real-time image that is captured by one of the plurality ofcameras on the drone; (i) determining whether any of the at least onevirtual object occupies a specific proportion of the aiming frame on thereal-time image; and (j) when any of the at least one virtual objectoccupies the specific proportion of the aiming frame on the real-timeimage, triggering a reward effect of getting the virtual object.
 8. Therendering method according to claim 7, wherein the specific proportionis greater than or equal to 75%.
 9. The rendering method according toclaim 1, wherein between the step (b) and the step (c), the renderingmethod further includes steps of: (k) importing a rendering model setfor the drone into the panoramic image from the information node or anexternal device; and (1) selecting a rendering model from the renderingmodel set as a drone appearance, and issuing a confirmation signal tothe information node.
 10. The rendering method according to claim 1,wherein the control device is a handheld remote controller, the displaydevice is a panel monitor integrated into a handheld remote controllerdevice or a head-mounted display, and the information node is a basestation.
 11. The rendering method according to claim 1, wherein the atleast one virtual object is generated randomly.
 12. The rendering methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the ready signal is a countdown signal.